Hormonal changes, let-down of breast milk, nursing and other conditions associated with pregnancy, childbirth and nursing cause physical pain, soreness and irritation to a mother's body and, in particular, her breasts and nipples. Pregnant, postpartum and nursing mothers commonly experience the sensations of breast heaviness and tenderness caused by swelling and engorgement; nipple trauma including cracked, blistered and bleeding nipples caused by early stage nursing and improper latch of infant's mouth to mother's areola and nipple; plugged milk ducts or localized blockages of milk in the breast caused by ineffective drainage of the breast, blocked nipple pores, or wearing of restrictive brassieres and clothing; and breast infections characterized by soreness, redness and hard spots in the area of the breast that is affected.
While healthcare providers and lactation consultants recommend warm showers to help soothe the breast area and ease engorgement, the act of showering itself presents problems to pregnant, postpartum and nursing mothers. First, the direct force of shower sprays on tender breasts and irritated nipples is quite painful. Second, drying ingredients and chemical additives found in many toiletries further irritate injured nipples and areolas. The routine task of showering becomes difficult and rushed as the pregnant or new mother races to shampoo, condition, soap and shave with one hand and shield her breasts and nipples from stinging shower sprays, soap and other chemical residues with the other hand. As a result, the comforting properties of warm shower water flowing over the breast area are diminished.
To address these issues, healthcare providers and lactation consultants routinely advise their patients to place a washcloth or towel over the breast and nipple area while showering to 1) create a physical barrier between the breast area and stinging shower sprays, soap and other chemical residues found in many toiletries and 2) achieve a warm compress effect to alleviate breast discomfort caused by swelling, engorgement, localized blockages of milk ducts, nipple trauma and breast infection. However, this method is ineffective and inefficient as evidenced by the following problems:
(a) Washcloths, towels and towel wraps are not the proper size to suitably cover the breast and nipple area. Washcloths are too small, requiring the mother to hold multiple cloths over the breast area. Towels and towel wraps are too large and, as a result, cover more body area than preferred and become excessively heavy and cumbersome when wet. This invention is suitably sized in that its length is sufficient to wrap around the bustline and back of a pregnant, postpartum or nursing mother, which is generally within but not limited to the range of thirty five (35) to forty three (43) inches, and its width is sufficient to adequately cover the breasts and nipples, which is generally within but not limited to the range of nine (9) to eleven (11) inches, without covering more body area than desired.
(b) Wet towels and towel wraps become excessively heavy and cumbersome when wet, placing surplus weight on the mother's breasts that are already heavy and engorged as a result of pregnancy, childbirth and nursing. This increased pressure contributes to breast pain and discomfort and increases strain on delicate, stretched breast tissue.
(c) Washcloths and towels must be manually held in place with at least one hand, leaving only one hand free to shower. Routine tasks of opening toiletry bottles, shampooing, conditioning and shaving become difficult when only one hand is available to perform the activity. Towel wraps, including those with elasticized bands around the top and those which utilize hook and loop fasteners, become excessively heavy when wet; the elasticized bands around the top of the towel wrap that generally hold the towel wrap in place are not sufficient to do so when the towel wrap is saturated with water.
(d) Washcloths, towels and towel wraps do not provide any level of support to the breasts when held over the breast and nipple area. Rather, they place surplus weight on the mother's breasts which contributes to breast pain and discomfort and increases strain on delicate, stretched breast tissue.
(e) Washcloths, towels and towel wraps, when draped over the breast and nipple area, do not effectively function as a warm compress. A compress is defined in the American Heritage Dictionary as “a soft pad of gauze or other material applied with pressure to a part of the body to control hemorrhage or to supply heat, cold, moisture, or medication to alleviate pain or reduce infection.” When used in the shower, washcloths, towels and towel wraps cannot be applied with sufficient firmness or snugness to effectively compress or apply pressure to the breast area without significant manual intervention on the part of the user to hold them in place and to apply the pressure. These mechanisms have no means of providing appropriate pressure without the direct assistance of the wearer.
(f) Wet towels and towel wraps require increased effort to wring out, dry and launder due to their size and weight, especially when wet.
Currently, the only method to support, protect and relieve tender breasts and nipples associated with pregnancy, childbirth and nursing while showering is for the mother to manually hold or support washcloths, towels or towel wraps over her breast and nipple area. There is no other device or method otherwise available for this use.
This invention is a fabric breast support worn in the shower to support and protect the breasts and nipples of pregnant, postpartum and nursing mothers and to relieve breast and nipple pain associated with pregnancy, childbirth and nursing while leaving the wearer's hands free. This device is not a tube top. A tube top is defined by Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) as “a woman's strapless top, usually of elasticized fabric, that fits snugly on the body.” Tube tops are generally accepted in the marketplace as cylindrical, shoulderless, sleeveless “tubes” without a defined beginning or end that wrap the torso staying in place by elasticity or by a single strap that is attached to the front of the tube. Examples of patents issued that fit the above definitions of tube top include U.S. Pat. No. 6,863,589, to Cano, entitled “Tube brassiere and method of making” and U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,345, to Jachowski, entitled “Strapless outer garment for a woman.” As the specific construct of the devices described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,863,589 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,345 constitute enhancements to the standard tube top to meet an intended purpose, so does the specific construct of the fabric breast support which is the subject of this patent application. The construct of the fabric breast support differs from a tube top in the following ways:
(a) The fabric breast support is two sided, meaning both the front plane or right side of the fabric panel that comprises the breast support and the reverse plane or wrong side of the fabric panel that comprises the breast support present a finished surface. The objective for providing a breast support with two finished sides is to provide a therapeutic benefit to the wearer, whereby the wearer's tender breasts and nipples only contact fabric that is soft, soothing and absorbent Tube tops may be made of any fabric and do not require the attribute of two finished sides to achieve this invention's therapeutic benefit.(b) The fabric breast support is made of fabric that is absorbent. The objective for providing an absorbent breast support is to provide a therapeutic benefit to the wearer whereby the breast support absorbs cool or warm shower water which contributes to its ability to effectively act as a compress when coupled with the gentle compression provided by the stretchable nature of the fabric. Tube tops may be made of any fabric including fabrics that are not absorbent and do not require this attribute of absorbency to achieve this invention's therapeutic benefit.(c) The fabric breast support is made of fabric that has the ability to stretch or is stretchable. Stretchable is defined by Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) as “made of synthetic or composite yarn having a sufficiently low denier or having been subjected to any of several special mechanical treatments to permit increased elasticity” and as “of yarn modified or twisted so as to afford high elasticity.” Stretch can be obtained either by use of synthetic yarn, elastic yarn or in the knitting/milling process. The objective for providing a stretchable breast support is to provide a therapeutic benefit whereby the breast support may be applied with sufficient firmness or snugness to effectively function as a warm or cool compress. Tube tops may be made of any fabric including fabrics that are not stretchable and do not require this attribute of stretchability to achieve this invention's therapeutic benefit.(d) The fabric breast support provides an adjustable closure, for example a 4″ Velcro® closure. The objective for providing a 4″ Velcro® closure is to provide two therapeutic benefits. First, to allow the wearer to deploy the breast support without having to tug the garment over her head and pull down on her tender, sore breasts. Secondly, the wearer's unique bustline measurements and support requirements will change drastically over the course of her pregnancy, after childbirth and during nursing, so having at least a 4″ adjustable closure is necessary to ensure proper fit over the course of pregnancy, childbirth and nursing. Because tube tops typically are comprised of one continuous piece of cylindrical fabric and do not have a closure mechanism, they do not achieve this invention's intended therapeutic benefit. Additionally, tops that are not in the form of a tube but that offer a closure mechanism do not offer this extent of size adjustability.(e) The fabric breast support is made of fabric that is sufficiently thick, generally, and without limitation, within the range of one-eighth inch (⅛″) to three-sixteenths inch ( 3/16″). The objective for using fabric that is sufficiently thick is to provide a therapeutic benefit to the wearer whereby the breast support provides a cushion between the stinging shower sprays and the wearer's breasts. The thickness of the fabric used in the construct of the breast support distinguishes it from tube tops and other such apparel in that such tops may be made of any fabric including Spandex or other fabrics that are sheer and thin. These fabrics lack the requisite thickness to provide an effective cushion between the shower sprays and breasts.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,015,331 to Ioakim entitled “Nighttime nursing bra” discloses a terry cloth band that has a finished surface with two critical components identified as (1) elastomeric band members which resiliently collapse around the wearer's body and (2) which has a liner member attached to the interior surface of the cloth band. Ioakim's terry cloth band is not itself made of elastic or stretchable fabric and that is the reason the elastomeric bands are required. The subject invention of this application includes a two-sided, fabric panel, wherein the fabric comprises a stretchable fabric such that the stretchable component is within the fabric structure itself. The properties and functions of the present invention are due to its ideal embodiment being devoid of any bands, whereas Ioakim's requires bands for proper function. Ioakim does not disclose the stretchable fabric of the present invention. Ioakim's device also uses a removable, interior liner member constructed from an absorbent fabric as Ioakim's terry cloth band is not disclosed as being two-sided and does not present on its own a finished, soft and absorbent surface directly adjacent to the wearer's breasts. The properties and functions of the subject invention are due to its ideal embodiment being devoid of this liner member and the number of hook and pile fastener sections that are required to attach the liner member to the terry cloth band, creating unwanted bulk and pressure points on the breasts.